Millions of Americans grew up watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood on the local Public Television station. But a new generation of kids is now growing up with a direct descendent of that award-winning program.
(Audio of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” program open) For those of us of a certain age, that theme song nests happily in our memories. “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” aired on PBS stations from 1968 until 2001. Fred Rogers even founded a production company in his hometown of Pittsburgh to produce the show. That company still exists today under the director of Paul Siefken, president and CEO of the Fred Rogers Company. Fred Rogers passed away in 2003 and Siefken said that was a very tough time for the company that bore his name.
“The organization faced a big challenge, whether to continue the work that the company had done for so many years making Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” Siefken explained, the alternative being to go out of business altogether. Obviously much had changed in the 35-plus years the show had been on the air. Even the youngest audiences were far more sophisticated than their parent’s generation. Attention spans were growing ever shorter. Siefken said the organization brought in the brilliant children’s programmer Angela Santamaro whose credits included Nickelodeon Junior’s “Blues Clues” and the PBS Kids staple “Super Why.”
“She came in and suggested along with the team here that they revisit the ‘neighborhood of make-believe’, which Fred obviously had created as part of ‘Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood’, but as an animated program and that’s how ‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood’ came into existence.”
Siefken said the characters in “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” are modern-day relatives of Mr. Roger’s original characters and there’s one more connection; a strong emphasis on helping little kids develop critical emotional and interpersonal coping skills.
“One of the things that ‘Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood’ did and now ‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood’ does, is explore emotions and challenges that children have that aren’t always happy,” Siefken said. “Daniel has challenges with frustration and disappointment and anger and those are not areas that any other children’s programs that are out there today explore.”
Siefken’s assessment is seconded by Morgan Evers, community relations coordinator with the Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend.
“Daniel Tiger is basically developed for 2 to 4 year old viewers who are coming into their own, but it combines music and movement and learning and imagination, but really targets and homes in on social and emotional well-being.”
Although Evers acknowledged even the best conceived and executed TV show is just one more tool to help parents raise better-adjusted kids and ultimately more civil adults.
“Whether it’s through Daniel Tiger or whatever environment they’re in and whatever they’re exposed to, if we can get them to understand their feelings and that other people have feelings too a little bit better, then absolutely I see them set on a better path through life just being able to handle the situations they come across,” Evers said.
All of this, said Paul Siefken, is the reason behind the “Be My Neighbor” day this Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Centre of Tallahassee, featuring all the “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” characters and messages.
“We hope that these events can be that conduit for young children and family to engage in an understanding of community,” he said. More information about the event is available at: www.wfsu.org
